Sunday, May 11, 2008

Seriously, I've got two versions of the game going right now (DS and Wii). Yes, in my life, Zelda transcends principles. I mean, hello, I did name my dog after it.

Anyhoo.

By now we all know what Wii Fit is. If not, you can either click the Wikipedia link or read on.

It's an exercise based Nintendo Wii game. It comes with a balance board and you can do about 40 different activities, from yoga poses to push-ups to aerobics. Sounds cool, right? It would be if it didn't use the outdated BMI system to measure how "fit" or "fat" you are. And if it didn't focus its marketing for the game on women and young girls. 'Cause, you know, it's a really good idea to make women and young girls more aware and ashamed of their bodies.

I mean, come on, I'm all for getting in shape and being fit, but (1) BMI is a terrible way to measure it (it's a terrible way to measure anything, really, check out the BMI Project) and (2) the marketing campaign here does nothing but support the idiotic stereotype and misguided notion that thin = fit and fat = lazy/out of shape.